Axisymmetric static and dynamic buckling of laminated thick truncated conical cap

Axisymmetric buckling analysis is presented for moderately thick laminated shallow, truncated conical caps under transverse load. Buckling under uniformly distributed loads and ring loads applied statically or as step function loads is considered. Marguerre-type, first-order shear deformation shallow shell theory is formulated in terms of transverse deflection w, the rotation psi of the normal to the mid-surface and the stress function phi. The governing equations are solved by the orthogonal point collocation method. Truncated conical caps with a circular opening, which is either free or plugged by a rigid central mass, have been analysed for clamped and simple supports with movable and immovable edge conditions. Typical numerical results are presented illustrating the effect of various parameters. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.